Smoked chicken..... and getting requests for more!

Rather than derail Johnny's thread, I'll tell you folks about a birthday party I cooked for last weekend. I sure didn't expect the way it turned out either. One of the guys I work with invited me to his place for his daughter's 1st Bday. The munchkin is insanely cute, and my better half and I were just pleased that we were asked to be there. Anyhow, a few weeks ago my buddy kinda hinted around that he would like me to cook up something for the festivities. I asked if chicken was alright, since he planned on doing the requisite burgers & dogs. He said that would be great, as long as I didn't make a burn your boots off recipe.

I went to the grocery store on Friday, and found whole birds for .89 a pound. Fantastic for what I'm doing I thought, and I got 4 that were 6-7 pounds each. I usually cook chickens on my WSM after I've cut them in half. Takes less time, and I use less consumables to boot. Another benefit is that you can move stuff around when you need to so each half cooks evenly. Gave 'em a nice seasoning rub and into the smoker they went. I used a twist on one of Paul Kirk's rub recipe's. I have a couple of his cookbooks, and this guy seriously knows his stuff. The chicken spent a leisurely 3.5 hrs on the smoker, using just a smallish piece of applewood. Like using FX for guitar, sometimes less is more.

While I had that working, I made a fruity & sweet 'Q sauce to lather on later. This stuff turned out great. After the bird came off the smoker at 165F, I let it rest a bit and then put it in the fridge for the next day. Fast forward about 12 hrs later....At the party, I got to work finishing up the birds. All they needed was a saucing and a reheat. A bit later, one of the people there said that they looked undercooked. I had to point out the pink ring was a sign of smoke cooking. I also pointed out that the birds were not overcooked either.

By the time guests started to head out, I'd recieved kudos from a number of them. Later on, my buddy's better half takes me aside and gives me a list of people that want me to do some 'Q at their party... and they would pay me to do it too. She told me that everyone seriously enjoyed the stuff I cooked, and it was much appreciated. She also shoved some coin into my pocket and said that I shouldn't count it. Okay... fine by me. I was thinking that it was nice of them as I hadn't expected anything. Damn nice I would find out.... turned out to be 50 bucks!

Fantastic looking chicken. We were just asked to cook for a graduation party next weekend and I am planning to do chicken and either ribs or pulled pork. I like the idea of the half chickens like that. I think they will cook up better. I think I could eat a half of that chicken right now. Great job.

OMG.... that looks very nice indeed. What does the dubbel beer do for the bird's taste? The smoked garlic I've done before, and that is most welcome mixed with tomatoes & zucchini squash grilled over a very hot fire.

OMG.... that looks very nice indeed. What does the dubbel beer do for the bird's taste? The smoked garlic I've done before, and that is most welcome mixed with tomatoes & zucchini squash grilled over a very hot fire.

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The beer definitely adds another layer of flavor to the meat while keeping it really moist. The first time I did it was after seeing this: http://www.homebrewchef.com/BeerBrinedTurkey.html
I don't brine it for a very long time so it doesn't taste exactly like the beer, but more like elements of the flavor of the beer. I've really like using moderately dark beers like Brown ales, Mild & the Dubbel for poultry.

Hello i am new and i have found this thread this very interesting and it is all about food stuff and i red this thread it is discussed on smoked chicken and i like this chicken and it is easy to make and this one seems to be pretty and also tasty and really it inspired me a lot and i liked it.

Hello i am new and i have found this thread this very interesting and it is all about food stuff and i red this thread it is discussed on smoked chicken and i like this chicken and it is easy to make and this one seems to be pretty and also tasty and really it inspired me a lot and i liked it.

OK. I tried this today. Obviously a different rub and my own sauce recipe. Mine ended up smoking for about 5 hours and I finished and sauced them on a hot hot grill. Seriously - this was among the best chicken I have had in my entire life. This rocked Parrothead!

OK. I tried this today. Obviously a different rub and my own sauce recipe. Mine ended up smoking for about 5 hours and I finished and sauced them on a hot hot grill. Seriously - this was among the best chicken I have had in my entire life. This rocked Parrothead!

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Thanks, but I can't take all the credit. Most of what I know about Q' is from books & experimentation. No matter how good it is in a restaurant, I cannot go someplace more than once and then try to re-create it at home. There is only a single Smokey Bones chain Q joint around here, and I tried it once. Nothing memorable. It used to be a Red Lobster.... one of their only stores in New England.

As for cooking the bird, I'm glad that you enjoyed it! I find that using just a little smoke wood goes a long way. I used to oversmoke everything. Problem was, I'd taste the smoke + creosote and not the meat. I learned that the creosote comes from the meat spending too much time in too much smoke. The answer? Better airflow and less smoke wood. The nice thing about the WSM is that it's a very forgiving cooking tool. It can also be a bitch when the temperature inside doesn't get up where you want it.

I ended up cooking the chickens cut in half at that grad party and it worked out great. We cooked them on the grill instead of on the smoker but added some good wood to the fire. Cooked up quick and still had some smoke flavor. We did 12 chickens on a grill we borrowed. Looking to get a big one built now.